ChipMixer was used by Ronin bridge hackers to launder over $73 million in stolen money. The hacker research chain reveals that ChipMixer’s privacy protocol was used by hackers from Ron’s Bridge (Lazarus Group) to launder 3,460 bitcoins ($73.2 million at the time of publication). A semi-annual report by blockchain security firm Slomyst conducted an online investigation into the Ronin hack and named the ChipMixer mixing protocol as a target for hackers on the Bitcoin network. Oxy Infinity’s Paul Ron lost $610 million to hackers on March 29, according to a report. However, most of the funds were laundered on the Ethereum and Bitcoin networks. Tornado Cash received 74.7% (300,160 ETH) of fake funds on the Ethereum blockchain, while the hacker’s address contained 95,570 ETH.
A total of 6,531.04 bitcoins have been transferred to the bitcoin network. ChipMixer helped launder 3,460 bitcoins (49.1% of funds), and 36.6% is still at the hacker’s address. The hackers removed a total of 2,671 bitcoins from the ChipMixer protocol and sent Blender, Wasabi Coinjoin and a small portion to the Binance exchange. The Lazarus group wants to wash the Bitcoin network. The investigation also noted that known hackers like the Lazarus group wanted to launder money through the Bitcoin network. This is because Bitcoin offers more anonymity and flexibility for criminal activities than Ethereum. The Lazarus Group laundered more money in Bitcoins than any other network.
Could ChipMixer be next on the banned list? Chipmixer facilitated the laundering of 48.9% of the funds on the Bitcoin network, while Tornado Cash facilitated the laundering of 74.6% of the funds on the Ethereum network. SlowMist noted that in 2022 alone, 26,021 BTC were sent to ChipMixer, while 14,370 BTC left the mixing protocol. The company’s involvement in financial crimes peaked during the hack of Ron Paul in March. Mixing protocols and chip mixers can also be controlled. In early May, the US Treasury Department sanctioned Mixed Ethics Blender for its involvement in the Ronin hack. Recently, TornadoCash was forced to shut down after the US Treasury Department settled and its developer Oleksiy Berchev was arrested.
